I know you are probably like “what are these things??” Well,let me tell you. I took a recipe for cinnamon bun dough transformed it into Red Velvet dough. Then I twisted it with some butter and vanilla sugar annnd made it into a heart shape.

Crazy right?!?!?!? Then I added cream cheese glaze because what is red velvet without cream cheese?? I got this idea and I just COULD NOT let it go. I had to do it. I mean you could totally make red velvet cinnamon buns with this dough. Go, go do it now. Then let me know what you think. Orrr you could totally wait because I have a very strange feeling red velvet cinnamon buns may be appearing here very soon. 😉

I made sure to use an overnight recipe so you can totally make these the night before and throw them in the oven in the morning. I even baked some off 2 days later and they were still great. I mean how awesome would it be to wake up to these on Valentine’s day morning? They only take 8-10 minutes to bake. So cool right?!?!

VERDICT

It’s has the texture of a cinnamon bun with the total red velvet flavor. The cream cheese glaze totally makes these. They are a little time consuming, not only with the yeast, that just a lot of waiting, but the twisting of the hearts and placement does take a while. But so, so worth it.

In the bowl of a standing mixer with your whisk attachment, whisk all your egg yolks, your whole egg, butter, buttermilk and food coloring together. Once everything is well combined add in 2 c of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and cocoa.

Once everything is moist change over to your dough hook.

Add in 1 c of flour and knead on low for 4-5 minutes until your dough sticks in one ball to your dough hook. If you find your dough is a still sticky add a bit more flour. It should be soft but not sticky.

Flour your counter and take dough out of the mixer. Knead by hand for about 30 seconds. Take a large bowl and spray with cooking spray. Put dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a couple tea towels. My house is cold so I put it on top of the fridge to rise.

Let rise for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Flour your counter and roll out to a 12 x 14 inch square. Mix your filling and spread evenly over your dough. Cut into 1 inch strips. (I used a pizza cutter) Grab at each end of the strip and twist. Place on your baking sheet and form into a heart . It’s ok if they touch a bit.

Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge over night.

In the morning boil some water and place about an inch in a baking pan. Make sure you use an oven mitt while pouring boiling water into the pan. Place pan with boiling water in the bottom of the oven and on the oven rack above, place your hearts. Let sit in the oven (turned off) for 1/2 an hour. You won’t notice much of a change in size but they will feel soft and slightly warm to the touch.

Take out of the oven and preheat oven to 350 F. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle position. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cream Cheese Glaze

With an electric mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Sift in confectioners sugar and add vanilla. Beat again until well mixed. Add your cream or milk to thin. If you want it a bit thinner just add a little more milk.

Best served warm. You can also pop them in the microwave for a minute to reheat.